Several procedures involve the use and implantation of autograft bone, allograft bone or xenograft bone into an animal or human body. At least some of the benefits of implanted bone includes providing support, promoting healing, filling bony cavities, separating or spacing bony elements such as vertebral bodies, promoting fusion, and stabilizing the site of fractures.
In one known procedure, a donor bone from a cadaver is selected and prepared for insertion into a patient. For example, a spinal implant may be prepared by selecting a femur or tibia bone and cutting the bone to a desired shape. Alternatively, a portion of a bone can be cut from the patient receiving the implant, usually from a large bone such as a hip bone. In another known procedure, the bone graft can be a synthetic material which has been formed to a desired size and shape.
Typically, bone grafts are prepared outside the operating room in a production facility, and inserts are prepared having a variety of shapes and sizes so that the physician performing a bone implant operation can select a properly sized and shaped implant for each patient and procedure. Production of bone graft can be expensive because the production facility must be capable of producing sterile implants, and the bone graft must be stored prior to use in an operation.
For many procedures, it may be desirable to provide a roughened or irregular surface on at least one surface of the finished bone graft to promote fusion of the graft to adjacent bone in the body. In addition, during an operation requiring an insert having a very precise size and shape, for example, a discectomy and spinal fusion procedure, a surgeon must have on hand a variety of bone graft sizes and shapes to precisely fit the bone graft into the disc space of the patient after preparation of the bone graft, which may include surgical removal of a ruptured or degenerated disc or a portion thereof.
Presently known methods for preparing bone grafts have shortcomings. One shortcoming is the cost of manufacturing bone grafts and sterilizing and storing the bone grafts in a production facility. Another shortcoming is the difficulty of forming a roughened or irregular surface on a bone graft, particularly after the bone graft has been cut to a desired size and shape. Formation of the roughened or irregular surface typically requires machining after cutting of the bone graft, and this may alter the dimensions or shape of the bone graft.
In view of these and other shortcomings associated with providing bone grafts, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and apparatus for the manufacture of bone grafts. Such a method should be relatively simple, inexpensive and provide the flexibility of allowing the bone graft to be prepared intraoperatively in an operating room.